Detroit Boat Club Ball (1868)
Photos Courtesy of Detroit Public Library Burton Historical Collection
Four hundred members and guests of the Detroit Boat Club attended an elegant ball at the Russell House in January of 1868. The event featured music by a local band, an elegant supper prepared under the skillful eye of hotel steward E.B. Bright, and decorations by the William Wright Company. American and English flags featured prominently in a nod to the club’s mix of American and Canadian members. It is interesting to ponder what role, if any, William Wright may have played in this job, given his identity as an English-born immigrant who became an American citizen.
Sources: “Boat Club Ball.” The [Detroit] Free Press. January 31, 1868.
Furnishings and Decorative Art Pieces for the Detroit Art Loan Exhibition (1883)
A custom one-story building featuring extensive skylights was built to house the Art Loan Exhibition
Room K, shown in the above stereograph, contained the collection of James McMillan and was decorated and partially furnished by the William Wright Company.
Shown in the stereograph above, Room Z holds the portrait of Pope Pius IX, loaned by the William Wright Company (right of center). The Wright-loaned Holy Family painting is not shown in the stereograph.
(top) Exterior Photo Courtesy Detroit Public Library, Burton Historical Collection; (middle) Interior Photo of Room K Courtesy Detroit Historical Society; (bottom) Interior Photo of Room Z Courtesy Detroit Institute of Arts Archives.
Detroit buzzed with anticipation in 1883 as a group of businessmen, collectors, artists, and art enthusiasts prepared the city’s first “Art Loan Exhibition.” This two-and-a-half-month event spurred interest in the arts through the public exhibition of oil paintings, watercolors, decorative arts, coins, curios, and other collectibles on loan (and occasionally for sale!) from their owners and creators. Attended by over 100,000 people from across the Midwest, the exhibition led to the founding of the Detroit Museum of Arts, the predecessor of the modern Detroit Institute of Arts.
Several prominent Detroit businessmen, including industrialist (and future U.S. Senator) James McMillan, supported the event financially and loaned treasures from their personal collections for display. McMillan’s contributions – which included numerous oil paintings, sculptures, and painted porcelain works – warranted displayed in a custom drawing room, decorated by the William Wright Company.
A list of Wright’s contributions survives in the “Miscellaneous” section of the Detroit Art Loan - Catalogue of Art Works Exhibited, published for the event. They included:
· Mantel and Over-mantel, made of California redwood, with Low’s art tile and molded iron back
· Antique Oak Mantel and Over-mantel, with Low’s art tile and Rideau grate
· Two Antique Hall Chairs
· Art Iron Fire-back castings and Andirons
· Antique Carved Walnut Music Stand
· Specimen of Parquet Wood-carpet Flooring
· Carved Gold Drawing-room Centre-piece, with beveled mirror and pedestals combined
· Stained glass Window
· Seven pieces of Antique Armor. Reproductions. Morin Cellini shield brass shield, pair swords, horse’s head armor, horse’s breast-plate
· Low’s Tile, for wainscoting facings and hearths
· Specimen of Low’s Art Tile
· Series of the Low Plastic Sketches
According to a handwritten note on the back of a stereograph card in the Detroit Institute of Arts Archives, the fire screen was relocated to a display in the Detroit Historical Museum in 1887.
Wright likewise loaned two oil paintings which were displayed in Room Z, with other assorted items: a painting of The Holy Family and a portrait of Pope Pius IX. Records indicate one of these paintings was from the collection of Lewis Cass and had been gifted by a Pope. The Wright-loaned portrait of Pope Pius IX is shown in the stereograph of Room Z.
Sources: “Art Loan Brevities.” The [Detroit] Free Press. June 22, 1883.
Avery, Clara A, Cornelia L Campbell, and L.H. Stone. Detroit Art Loan - Catalogue of Art Works Exhibited. Detroit, MI: John F. Eby & Company, 1883.
“The Permanent Gallery.” The [Detroit] Free Press. November 4, 1883.
“We Shall Have It!” The [Detroit] Free Press. January 25, 1883.
Armand H Griffith Records, Detroit Institute of Arts Museum Archives.
Detroit Museum of Art Thomas Nast Fundraiser (1885)
Detroit Opera House Courtesy Detroit Public Library, Burton Historical Collection; Nast Portrait Courtesy New York Public Library.
Less than a year-and-a-half after the wildly success Art Loan Exhibition, Detroit community leaders decided to launch a public appeal for money to start an art museum. In early 1885, they announced a two-fold plan: soliciting donations of up to $100 each via a personal appeal and hosting a ticketed public event starring famous political cartoonist Thomas Nast. William Wright made news for being the first person to officially respond by donating $100 and buying a block of tickets to the April 20 event.
The William Wright Company also supported the event by loaning a number of furnishings to dress the large stage at the Detroit Opera House. According to a hand-written note in the archives of the Detroit Institute of Arts (the heir of the Detroit Museum of Art), the Wright Company provided one Japanese mantel, a panel of armor, two pair of drapes, two lamps, two chairs, a mirror, a frame, and other pieces. A write up in the newspaper testified that “The artistic effect was sigularly [sic] beautiful . . .”
Sources: Armand H Griffith Records, Detroit Institute of Arts Museum Archives.
“That Art Museum. The [Detroit] Free Press. April 21, 1885.
“The Work Begun.” The [Detroit] Free Press. March 22, 1885.
Chrysanthemum Flower Show Booths (Detroit - 1889)
The William Wright Company partnered with numerous area florists (including John Breitmeyer’s Sons’ Flower Store) for a flower show in the fall of 1889. The event primarily featured chrysanthemums, a flower associated with the Far East and the late 19th century Aesthetic Movement. In keeping with this theme, the William Wright Company built five Chinese pagoda inspired temporary booths, where saleswomen sold fresh cut flowers.
Sources: “The Chrysanthemum.” The [Detroit] Free Press. November 10, 1889.
Grand Army of the Republic (G.A.R.) Arch of Peace (Detroit - 1891)
Photo Courtesy Detroit Public Library, Burton Historical Collection
Detroit hosted the national annual convention of the Grand Army of the Republic – the largest Union Civil War veteran organization – in the summer of 1891. In preparation for the event, the William Wright Company erected a large Arch of Peace that spanned Fort Street at the corner of Griswold. Each side featured large cartouches and a central motto related to the idea of peace. One read “Their prowess gave us peace/Undying be their fame.” The other bore a quote from Shakespeare’s Henry V: “Cheerily on, courageous friends! To reap the harvest of perpetual Peace!”
A newspaper article from late July 1891 notes the presence of a second arch across Woodward at Grand Circus, dedicated to the theme of war. It is probable – though not confirmed – that the Wright Company built and decorated both.
Sources: “Beautiful Arches.” The [Detroit] Free Press. July 30, 1891.
Detroit Chamber of Commerce Brass Plaque (1892)
Photo Courtesy Detroit Public Library, Burton Historical Collection
The Detroit Chamber of Commerce’s first office was located in the Campau Building at the corner of Griswold and Larned.
Under the skillful chairmanship of former U.S. Senator and Detroit native T.W. Ferry, Detroit businessmen founded a city Chamber of Commerce on January 5, 1892. Designed to promote Detroit businesses and attract investment, the Chamber’s inaugural members pledged $48,000 at their first meeting, held in Philharmonic Hall. Within days, the Chamber issued a circular letter soliciting $10 memberships, with the condition that each member likewise purchase a $100 share. Funds raised would be put towards the construction of a new home. In the meantime, the Chamber was headquartered in the Campau Building. This office was identified by a handsome new brass sign, gifted by the William Wright Company.
Sources: “$48,000 Raised.” The [Detroit] Free Press. January 6, 1892.
The [Detroit] Free Press. February 2, 1892.
“What It Proposes to Do.” The [Detroit] Free Press. January 26, 1892.
Detroit Children’s Free Hospital Charity Ball (1892)
Detroit’s high society loved to get dressed up and dance a night away for a good cause. On Thursday, December 29, the Algers, McMillans, Whitneys, Duffields, and many others gathered at the Light Infantry armory for a ball benefitting the Children’s Free Hospital. The William Wright Company cloaked the armory’s grand stair and floor in white to resemble marble and enlivened the room with a profusion of plants including palms and seasonal holly. An article about the event in the Chicago Tribune suggests that the Wright Company decorated for this event every year and may have donated their services for the good of the cause.
Sources: “Detroit Society at a Charity Ball.” Chicago Tribune. December 30, 1892.
Montana Exhibition Booth, Columbian Exposition (Chicago, IL - 1893)
Photo Courtesy Library of Congress
It naturally benefitted the William Wright Company to pursue commissions for projects tied to the enormous Worlds Fairs that dominated late nineteenth and early twentieth century culture. In the early 1890s the Wright firm designed and built a Greek-temple-inspired booth for Montana’s exhibit at the 1893 Columbian Exposition. It featured forty-three columns, “constructed of materials representing the marbles and minerals obtained in Montana,” which sat atop a marble base. The column tops were gilded to match the golden base of a massive silver statue, said to be the largest ever made. Sadly, it does not appear that the Wright Company played any part in the design or construction of the statue, which attracted significant attention. Perhaps the firm was content knowing that everyone who came to see it stepped inside their elegant booth.
Sources: “Michigan Matters.” The [Grand Rapids] Evening Press. April 7, 1893.
“Ada Rehan Cast in Silver.” The New York Times. March 19, 1893.
Michigan Business Men’s Association Convention Parade Float (Detroit - 1898)
As Michigan’s largest city, Detroit hosted numerous conventions around the turn of the twentieth century. Oftentimes, these gatherings inspired large public events, including banquets, riverboat excursions, and many, many parades.
The Detroit Business Men’s Association hired the William Wright Co. to design a float for their convention parade in August, 1898. Named the “Peace Float,” it presumably paid tribute to the recent cease-fire between the United States and Spain, which effectively ended the Spanish American War. (The actual Treaty of Paris, ending the war, was signed on December 10, 1898.) A newspaper notice published the next day described the float as “prominent in artistic merit, as well as in symbolizing the spirit of the occasion, and the image which is uppermost in the minds of all our people – the image of the return of peace with its attendant blessings.” Interestingly, because the float was commissioned by the convention’s organizers, it was not eligible to compete for any of the prizes issued to other participants.
Sources: “The Awards of the Judges of Floats.” The [Detroit] Free Press. August 26, 1898.
“Everything Is Ready.” The [Detroit] Free Press. August 23, 1898.
Michigan Women’s Press Club Annual Meeting Decorations (Detroit - 1899)
Photo Courtesy Detroit Public Library, Burton Historical Collection
The Fellowcraft Hall in Detroit stood at the corner of Wilcox and Barclay.
The William Wright Company again partnered with John Breitmeyer’s Sons’ Flower Store and J. Frederick Sullivan Rose Grower and Florist to provide decorations for the Michigan Women’s Press Club Annual Meeting of 1899. Held in the Fellowcraft Club, the conference doubled as a tenth anniversary celebration. Naturally, the association’s colors of yellow, white, and green featured prominently in the decorations.
Sources: “Women Journalists in Convention.” The [Detroit] Free Press. May 17, 1899.
Saginaw Art Club Talk (1904)
The William Wright Company graciously loaned Miss Frances McEntee, of Saginaw, three examples of embossed and tooled leatherwork to illustrate a talk she gave to the Saginaw Art Club in December 1904. It’s probable that either Miss McEntee or another club member had previously worked with the Detroit decorating firm and had no qualms about asking for its assistance. The Wright Company likewise wanted to keep its clients pleased and was happy to oblige.
Sources: “Saginaw’s Social Life.” The Saginaw News. December 15, 1904.
Gold Vases and Bases for the Theodore Buhl Housewarming Party (Detroit - c. 1907)
Photos Courtesy of Detroit Public Library, Burton Historical Collection
Families capable of building large homes designed for entertaining, naturally hosted extravagant housewarming parties. These events brought together numerous elite businesses, who supplied food, drink, flowers, and extra decorations.
According to a story relayed by Peter Breitmeyer (of John Breitmeyer’s Sons’ Flower Store), his company provided dozens of long-stemmed, red roses for the housewarming at the 1907 Buhl mansion. The flowers were displayed in gold vases mounted on red plush bases provided by the William Wright Co. “That was the most beautiful job of decorating that we have ever done . . . Mrs. Buhl spared no expense on the floral decorations,” Breitmeyer recalled in a speech to the Detroit Historical Society.
Sources: “The Dowagers of E. Jefferson.” The Detroit Free Press. July 16, 1967.